{"id":5273,"date":"2014-07-15T08:35:22","date_gmt":"2014-07-15T12:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meetcontent.com\/?p=5273"},"modified":"2017-04-20T00:27:30","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T04:27:30","slug":"power-first-person-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meetcontent.com\/blog\/power-first-person-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of the First-Person Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Self-portrait\"
First-person content has so much potential. How can we unlock it?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lot has been said<\/a> about \u201cclickbait\u201d content from sites like Upworthy, whose headlines tug on (some say exploit) emotions and curiosity to lure readers to their content. While I don\u2019t feel as strongly about these headlines as many do, one type of headline that particularly grates on me is the faux first-person headline. For example:<\/p>\n

A News Team Follows Potential Models For One Week. My Face Is Now Stuck In Disgust Mode.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve Tried To Understand Health Care For Years. After 7 Minutes With This Guy, I Totally Get It Now.<\/p>\n

He Gave A Very Inspiring Speech About 10 Lessons On How To Live A Good Life. I Loved #3 The Most.<\/p>\n

After reading these headlines, all I have are doubt and questions. Were you really that disgusted? Did you really have such trouble understanding how health care worked? Are you sure it wasn\u2019t #5?<\/p>\n

To me, these uses of the first-person feel exploitative. While you can argue that any Upworthy or BuzzFeed headline could be described as such, I find these particular irksome.It seems disingenuous to me that BuzzFeed\u2019s writers, who famously churn through at least 25 headlines per blog post<\/a>, are representing their true, personal reactions to the content they are hawking.<\/p>\n

I believe the use of first-person is a privilege. It connotes a truth, an intimacy, an authentic perspective, and thus a power unlike any other. It is innately personal \u2014 in some instances confessional. These characteristics help content created\u00a0in the first-person (singular or plural) establish a personal connection with the reader.<\/p>\n

We often embrace the \u201cwe\u201d in our content in order to achieve an inclusive, conversational tone \u2014 if a voice and tone style guide was like \u201cWheel of Fortune,\u201d the entry about \u201cwe\u201d would be equivalent of getting R S T L N and E in the bonus round. But why does it work this way? And how can we take the concept of the first-person perspective even further?<\/p>\n

Why ‘I’?<\/h2>\n

Using a first-person perspective in your written content makes an emotional appeal that helps forge a relationship between you and your reader.<\/p>\n

Valuable characteristics of first-person content:<\/p>\n

Ownership:<\/h3>\n

It is much harder to be wishy-washy and passive in your statements when staking a claim to them with a \u201cwe\u201d or \u201cI.\u201d Imbuing your content with ownership via the first-person makes it more authoritative, which helps build trust with your readers.<\/p>\n

Presence:<\/h3>\n

Bringing the first-person perspective into your text anchors it in the moment. This helps the reader feel like a participant in an active experience and not the discoverer of some ancient text. That sense of presence helps the content feel more relatable.<\/p>\n

Authenticity:<\/h3>\n

Ownership and presence lend themselves to a sense of authenticity. With implied authorship, whatever is written is more believable than otherwise \u201csourceless\u201d content, even if we don\u2019t have a name associated with the voice.<\/p>\n

Reflection:<\/h3>\n

People generally (not always, sadly) think before they speak. So when you read something in the first-person, there is a tacit implication of reflection and recollection. The use of the first person conveys that some personal thought and consideration was put into these words, with lends it credence.<\/p>\n

Obviously, not all content is suitable for a first-person perspective. Consider who your audience is and what it is you are hoping they will learn or do. Will a first-person perspective make that outcome more likely? Will it result in the content being more accessible or comprehensible?<\/p>\n

The University of San Francisco style guide<\/a> makes a compelling case for the first-person:<\/p>\n

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In general, we recommend using first-person narratives as much as possible. Prospective students want to get as accurate a sense as possible of the true nature of the USF community, and direct exposure to that community is the best way to achieve that goal. Blogs, good photography with descriptive captions, and video can help to give this impression.<\/p>\n

…Content doesn\u02bct have to be literally unfiltered to have this impact. But we should be careful not to over-manage first person narratives, as today\u02bcs audience is sensitive to packaged and manufactured content and can see through \u201ccanned\u201d or marketing-driven material of that sort.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

USF convincingly argues for reducing or, whenever possible, eliminating the institutional filter between its audience and the subjects of its content.<\/p>\n

In a 2010 post on the Brain Traffic blog<\/a>, Angie King says that some organizations shy away from \u201cI,\u201d \u201cwe,\u201d and \u201cus\u201d due to being overly cautious or old-fashioned, reluctant to step away from formal business communication practices. She argues:<\/p>\n

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But guidelines that limit the use of personal pronouns should be reconsidered now that we\u2019re in the digital age. These days, content needs to speak to users clearly and directly. It needs to compete for their attention.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cPersonal pronouns reflect the way real people write and speak,\u201d adds King, which stands to reinforce clarity and comprehension. She says that use of the third-person may lend itself to awkward, clunky sentence constructions.<\/p>\n

Relatedly, you may have read articles\u00a0in The New York Times or other publications where \u201cthis correspondent<\/a>\u201d or \u201cthis reporter<\/a>\u201d tries some dish or experiences some local custom. Awkward, right? Why can\u2019t he or she simply claim authorship with the first person?<\/p>\n

First-Person: Some Perspectives<\/h2>\n

There are several ways that the first-person can shape our content, beyond the mere substitution of \u201cwe\u201d for \u201cthe university.\u201d Here are some examples.<\/p>\n

Video<\/h3>\n

We\u2019ve come a long way since the \u201cThe Blair Witch Project.\u201d As Michael Dooley wrote on the blog Business 2 Community last fall, the first-person perspective is a growing trend in commercials and other video ads<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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A growing trend in video ads, especially for tech products, is the use of a first-person camera angle to allow the viewer to feel the experience. \u2026 The first-person camera angle captures the attention of the audience, but they will also remember the music choice and the sparing use of simple text.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Apple\u2019s recent ad campaigns have employed this approach:<\/p>\n